The DVD:
The image is in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio and has, as usual, been restored to full glory by the dedicated Restoration Team, as has the soundtrack (presented in the original mono).
There are English subtitles for those who are hard of hearing and audio navigation of the menus for those who are visually impaired.
On to the extras:
Commentary: Full length commentary across all the episodes featuring Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Nerys Hughes (Todd, the scientist of this serial) who all seem to have a high regard for the serial and a hugely enjoyable time whilst imparting their anecdotes and information... and yes the "Matthew Waterhouse in second acting job gives advice on acting to Richard Todd who has over 40 years of experience including star role in classic film The Dam Busters" story comes up very quickly...but, unlike some previous occasions, it all seems to me to be meant and taken in good spirit.
Peter Davison is amusing and prepared as always, Matthew gives a decent account of himself, coming across much better than he did in the part some might say, and Nerys adds a nice 'external' view from outside the TARDIS crew. Also Janet Fielding is generally a bit more positive about this serial than some in the past, even when pointing out its weaknesses compared to the new series, which is refreshing, but the real shock is that there are four mentions of hairstyles and she not only didn't start any of them but never mentions her own hair as Tegan once!
Though some of the anecdotes have turned up before generally this is a very interesting and informative commentary which is enhanced by the people on it having a great time!
Dream Time (Making of documentary): An even handed documentary, especially concerning the writer's feeling that the story needed no explanation as it went along and (script editor of the time) Eric Saward's belief that it did. Though not usually a big fan of Saward, and indeed some of his reasoning here I still disagree with, in this case I was personally very glad he won most of the battles in the studio.
My only regret for the documentary is that, given the participants comment on the poor quality of the 'big pink snake' and about the possibility of a CGI one nowadays, I would have loved the participants reactions to the new CGIone that has been created for this DVD!
(34 minutes)
Peter Grimwade - Directing with Attitude: I felt the 'introduction to each question whilst walking around' style was a bit odd (though nice to see Mark Strickson again) but the content I found very interesting though some of the attitudes and points had been made before.
(23 minutes)
Optional CGI and Comparison: The replacement CGI for Kinda is aimed purely at the 'pink snake' scenes at the climax of the serial and boy have the team have really out-done themselves with this one - certainly worth the actual 'side-by-side' comparison feature just to see how good it is.
It's impressive enough the way they managed to replace the rubber snake used at the start of the 'growing' scene when it was about normal python sized, but the full size snake replacement, including adding reflections in all the mirrors surrounding it, that weren't even present on the original, was absolutely outstanding. For me, when watched in the serial itself, it really helped to keep me "in the action" rather than having to work my suspension of disbelief really hard so that the finalé wasn't spoiled by a rather rubbish monster!
The most significant aspect of this particular CGI in my opinion was that it was the first time a 'biologic' had been done. Spaceships, blaster beams and such we've seen before but the team have always said doing living creatures in CGI was much more difficult and (importantly) expensive.Even given that in this case the basic CGI design for the snake was probably already created so it didn't have to be done from scratch (I'm pretty sure it was some sort of Viper recoloured with more pink... I'm sure someone will tell me the variety!) this is a major step forward in the capabilities within budget and I can only hope fervently that at least the few Loch Ness Monster scenes in Terror of the Zygons, and maybe even the awful plastic toys used in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, are now potential candidates for such a CGI makeover... I really hope so.
(1 min 32 sec)
Deleted and Extended Scenes: Though there was no detailed explanation given for the cutting of scenes (at least not associated directly with the scenes, there are some references elsewhere on the disc) I found it interesting to see that a large number would have provided a lot more background to the Sanders/Hindle relationship which would have provided some good background for Hindle's breakdown.
(15 minutes)
Trivia Text: All nicely timed for easy reading and with plenty of information to impart, especially about the Buddhist and Sanskrit references such as the meaning of the names of the characters and how that actually fits with the story.
Also on the disc there is an automated Photo Gallery (4 1/2 minutes), Trails and Continuity announcements for the show (the BBC Received Pronunciation style of speaking always makes me nostalgic - 4 minutes), PDF Documentation of the Radio Times billings for the serial and a "Coming Soon Trailer" for the Revisitations 2 set.
Fans of the music for the episode will also be pleased to learn there is an Isolated Score soundtrack which they can select.
Overall, therefore, a great package of special features with, I think, something for everyone from hardcore fan to first time watcher.
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